Close-Open:A Metaphor of LIFE

One of the blog entries I regret to have deleted was the one where I talked about Close Open:A Metaphor of LIFE.  Reverend Father Rafael Rey Dela Cruz Jr. of the Salesians of Don Bosco, a professor of Dogmatic Theology etc.,  gave a very meaningful homily sometime last year, and it left a deep mark in my heart.

I am blessed that this morning during his Easter Sunday(Resurrection of our Lord)'s homily, he did not only talk about it again, but even expounded a bit.  He also gave a short exercise so that people would understand it more.

He made everyone raise their right hand with a close fist, then made us open it, made us repeat the exercise several times.

Have we ever wondered why it is not the reverse?

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The reverse is actually a sad reality: Once joyful people suddenly becoming downtrodden or sullen;  once generous people become Scrooge-like; once people full of love who become apathetic...  The list goes on and one and on.

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Lamentations 3:22-23English Standard Version (ESV)

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

    his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

No one can claim that they know everything and more so, no one can claim he remembers everything.

Those of us who have been studying the life of Christ for more than thirty years now have the tendency to have spiritual arrogance, but on the other side of it, we would also have lots of moments of spiritual aridity.  Even Mother Teresa of Calcutta experienced such.  We never stop learning until our final breath.

Even if we are very keen observers, we would miss a thing or two. That's why even if the synoptic gospels are similar, but not exactly the same, they are more credible than if they are exactly the same.  It's the core that matters.  The reason they are synoptic is the fact that they share several similar stories summarizing the Lord's life, passion, death etc.  In THE CASE FOR CHRIST, the film is at its best when it focuses on this conflict and leaves the apologetics on the sidelines. A viewer may or may not be personally convinced by the evidence presented to Strobel during his investigation, but that is beside the point. The more pressing question is this: Will Strobel be convinced? Will he overcome his reflexive contempt for his wife’s faith before their conflict tears their family apart?(words by Kevin McLenithan)


Another example is from my own experience.  I have attended the Leadership series with Brother Ed Villacorte sometime in the past, but I started attending it again this month.  One of the topics this month is "Peter, do you love Me?"  Brother Ed asked why he asked this three times and in my heart I knew the answer, but my brain was confused.  I said, "It's because he denied Jesus three times."  That's the wrong answer because Jesus asked the Father to forgive all who wronged Him and led Him to be crucified because they did not know what they were doing.  

Referring to the original text via Strong's Numbers in his famous Concordance, we would see that Jesus used Agape(Agape (Ancient Greek ἀγάπη, agápē) is a Greco-Christian term referring to "love: the highest form of love, charity", and "the love of God for man and of man for God".) while Peter used Phileo(human love). -scroll down if you want to read about the four kinds of Greek love.

Besides that, we also learned about the different types of feeding(this was not tackled during the seminar this month---please click the highlighted word) and why. 

Ergo, we really cannot claim we know everything, plus there are things we remember and there are things we forget. 

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THE TOMB IS A WOMB, yes, because from Death comes LIFE.  In Father Rey's homily he compared the tomb to a womb.

Here are some of the comparisons that I remember(I actually jotted some down, but my penmanship is like chicken scratch or something)

Tomb=Death/Decay/Destruction/Decomposition/Sadness/Grief/Rotten Smell
Womb=Life/Growth/Development/Unification/Joyful anticipation/Fragrance


Stone=Division
Living=Outside the tomb
Dead=Inside the tomb

This was also discussed when the resurrection of Lazarus was tackled.

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The water of baptism makes us children of the Father...His adopted children...Christ becomes our brother.

We are the children of Easter morning We sing to celebrate our new lives The dawn of an eternal morning The fulfillment of our ageless desires We sing with joy in our hearts overflowing We sing to beckon those who dwell in the dark We'll keep on singing till all men celebrate This Easter morn We are the children of Easter morning We sing to proclaim the Lord's might Now there's meaning to our life of dying For the Lord, our God, has conquered the night With joy we dedicate our lives to the service Of the God of Life whose goodness we've known Until our lives be themselves our song of Easter morn May our simple lives be a song of praise To the goodness of the Lord May the Lord delight in this song we sing This song we live with joy If we had to sing just one song To the Lord, Creator of life May our lives be that song resounding in praise To the goodness and glory of God Rev. Father Manoling Francisco, SJ, wrote this as a sort of anthem for the Bukas Palad Music Ministry. It is one of the few songs which celebrate Easter, the greatest feast in Christendom. (From Bukas Palad Online) THE FOUR GREEK WORDS FOR LOVE: Agápe (ἀγάπη agápē) means "love: esp. charity; the love of God for man and of man for God." Agape is used in ancient texts to denote feelings for one's children and the feelings for a spouse, and it was also used to refer to a love feast. Agape is used by Christians to express the unconditional love of God for his children. This type of love was further explained by Thomas Aquinas as "to will the good of another."
Éros (ἔρως érōs) means "love, mostly of the sexual passion."The Modern Greek word "erotas" means "intimate love". Plato refined his own definition: Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Plato does not talk of physical attraction as a necessary part of love, hence the use of the word platonic to mean, "without physical attraction." In the Symposium, the most famous ancient work on the subject, Plato has Socrates argue that eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty, and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth, the ideal "Form" of youthful beauty that leads us humans to feel erotic desire – thus suggesting that even that sensually based love aspires to the non-corporeal, spiritual plane of existence; that is, finding its truth, just like finding any truth, leads to transcendence. Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth through the means of eros.
Philia (φιλία philía) means "affectionate regard, friendship," usually "between equals." It is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle. In his best-known work on ethics, Nicomachean Ethics, philia is expressed variously as loyalty to friends (specifically, "brotherly love"), family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. Furthermore, in the same text philos denotes a general type of love, used for love between family, between friends, a desire or enjoyment of an activity, as well as between lovers.
Storge (στοργή storgē) means "love, affection" and "especially of parents and children"It is the common or natural empathy, like that felt by parents for offspring. Rarely used in ancient works, and then almost exclusively as a descriptor of relationships within the family. It is also known to express mere acceptance or putting up with situations, as in "loving" the tyrant. This is also used when referencing the love for ones country or a favorite sports team.